On April 20th, 1608, King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips (a landowner and Governor of Co. Antrim, Ireland) a license to distill. Thus, the Bushmills Distillery claims to be—and is almost unanimously considered to be—the oldest licensed distillery in the world. This is why the 1608 date is proudly printed on the labels of the Bushmills brand whiskey.
In the company of an experienced tour guide, you are taken right through the heart of the distillery to view the whiskey making process as it happens. The tour takes approximately 40 minutes. Be aware that children under the age of eight are welcome to visit the Distillery but are not permitted to join guided tours. Unfortunately, photos are also not permitted during the tour of the working distillery. You start your tour at the mash house where the distilling process begins. There, naturally sourced water from St. Columbs Rill and 100% malted barley are turned into wort. The wort is then fermented with yeast to create wash which is similar in strength to a strong beer. Then onto the still house where Bushmills triple distills their whiskeys. You continue on to the cask store to unravel the secrets of maturation, and then finally to the bottling hall where Bushmills bottles their whiskeys and prepares it for export across the globe. Your tour ends in Bushmills Bar where your reasonably priced guided tour ticket entitles you to a sample of Bushmills whiskey.
I recommend sampling the Distillery Reserve 12 year old Single Malt Whiskey which is apparently only available at the distillery itself.
The below photo showcases Bushmills many fine whiskeys.
I believe a poster I saw in Bushmills Bar sums up the entire Bushmills Distillery experience: “The village is called Bushmills. And there, amid the green fields of Antrim, where the soft winds blow and the air is clean and pure, a man first discovered the beautiful secret of whiskey. That secret is, today, Old Bushmills. Its probably the oldest whiskey in the world. Perhaps, also, it is the only true whiskey: certainly nothing yet has been made that is quite like it. Nothing, not even Scotch, has its softness, its mellowness, and its unique flavour. The little village of Bushmills should feel very proud. So indeed, should all of Northern Ireland.”
